2 questions I need to ask. Firstly, where I live appears to be around 40 miles away from any Theravada Sangha's or meditation groups/teachers. There are however quite a lot of Tibetan meditation groups within travelling distance for me, would it be okay for me to attend a meditation and dhamma discussion session with some Tibetan buddhists? I feel as if it might be a faux pas to say the least, it seems somewhat dishonest...

Secondly, I'm considering attending a weekend vipassana retreat, what is it I should look for when selecting somewhere to go?

You should attend those local groups if only to see what they're like and to see if you fit in and feel comfortable. Just because you consider yourself Theravadin doesn't mean you can't attend other groups or see value in other practices, it's not as if you have to attend a Theravadin library or buy your fish and chips at a Theravadin chip shop from now on either. If anybody asks you can tell them you have Theravadin leanings no problem.

For a weekend retreat look for something run by a group or teaching lineage you know a bit about or somebody has recommended.

"Proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake each moment." - Ajahn Chah"When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness. When we stop clinging, we can begin to be happy." - Ajahn Chah"Know and watch your heart. It’s pure but emotions come to colour it." — Ajahn Chah

From my limited experience one of the main differences between the groups is the actual person of the teacher and their lineage.

Some Tibetan groups may be very well disposed towards Theravada and may actually engage in anapanasati. Others may look down on you and do very different practices. Others again may be friendly but you find no affinity for what they practice.

Best to check it out.

That said if it is one of the newfangled New Kadampa groups best to stay away.

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

Bluishpurple wrote:Thanks for the responses guys, I will attend one of the groups. Is there any reason why I should stay away from the New Kadampa groups in particular?

And thank you for that link cooran but I'd already poached it from another thread it's how I know about the Tibetan groups close by

Bluishpurple

New Kadampas are very controversial within the Tibetan circles both due to a particular practice of propitiating a spirit which the Dalai Lama and most eminent lamas believe to be malevolent and also for the cultish way in which their organization is run.

Bluishpurple wrote:Thanks for the responses guys, I will attend one of the groups. Is there any reason why I should stay away from the New Kadampa groups in particular?

And thank you for that link cooran but I'd already poached it from another thread it's how I know about the Tibetan groups close by

Bluishpurple

New Kadampas are very controversial within the Tibetan circles both due to a particular practice of propitiating a spirit which the Dalai Lama and most eminent lamas believe to be malevolent and also for the cultish way in which their organization is run.

" Most eminant Lamas" ? Hardly.The Shugden controversy is largely a Gelug issue, and is mostly about politics.The Dalai Lama is a Gelug monk.All human activity has a tendency to become enmired in politics, and Tibetan Buddhism is more political than most.The reality beyond the Dharamsala press office is that a number of eminent lamas have always refused to acknowledge the Dalai Lama's authority...they include among many others Lama Ole of the Diamond Way Sangha,( probably the largest Tibetan Buddhist group in Europe ) and much of the Nyingmapa. ( which is both the oldest and largest Tibetan school ) Included among this group of dissenters are also some Gelug Lamas , and the new Kadampa is headed by a Gelug Geshe who denies the Dalai Lamas authority...and which subsequently has been demonised.Anyone who finds themselves near a New Kadampa Centre will get a perfectly good ( if very basic ) grounding in ShamaTha and Vipashnya...( Samatha and Vipassana ).Any further involvement will be up to them.

Last edited by PeterB on Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

Possibly Fede...it is well known that the Dalai Lama's main tutor was himself a Shugden devotee...The schism is recent, and stems from a prophecy from the State Oracle.... who many believe was being paid by the Chinese to foment dissonance.